Steam-turbine engeine



Aug. 19} 1924.

w.- H. BELKNAP TEAM TURBINE ENGINE Filed March 27 nbmboz .7

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3& his abhor/14mg) Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BELKNAP, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STEAM-TUBE INE ENGINE.

Application filed March 27, 1923. Serial No. 627,989.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WVILLIAM H. BEL- KNAP, a citizen of the United States, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Turbine Engines, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to turbine engines and particularly to engines of this class designed to be used for marine purposes and to be operated by steam under pressure; and the objectof the invention is to provide an engine of the class specified which will operate as a multiple expansion engine and which involves an improved cylinder construction; a further object being to provide improved means for introducing the main steam charge into pockets of one rotor of the engine and to immediately exhaust the steam from the pockets of such rotor and to pass the exhaust steam into the pockets of a supplemental rotor atone side of and in juxtaposition to the first named rotor; a further object being to provide the cylinder of the lastnamed rotor with an elongated exhaust port at a predetermined point in said last named cylinder; a still further object beingto pro vide means for exhausting excess steam which may prevail in the pockets in first named cylinder, and to discharge such steam into the pockets of the second named rotor independent of the first named charge; and with these and other objects in view, the invention consists in an engine of the class and for the purpose specified which is simple in construction and operation, and efli cient in use.

The invention described and claimed herein is an improvement on that shown and described in a prior patent granted to me May 17, 1921, No. 1,378,396, and is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and

in which Fig. 1 1s a sectional View diagrammatically illustrating my improved cylinder con struction with one of the rotors mounted therein and illustrating the method of introducing and discharging steam.

Fig. 2 is a partial section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the construction shown in Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 41 is a plane view of a part of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

In the drawing I have diagrammatically illustrated at 5 the cylinder construction of my engine, said cylinder comprising a base 6, an upright central partition wall 7 at the opposite sides of which are projecting annular flanges 8 and 9 which form at the opposit side faces of the wall 7 main and supplemental cylinders 10 and 11 which open outwardly through said cylinders and are closed by plates 12 and 13 having suitable bearings 14 to support the shaft 15 of the engine. Keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft 15 within the cylinders 10 and 11 are rotors 16 and 17 having on the periphery thereof circumferentially spaced pockets 16 and 17 The rotors 16 and 17 are designed to fit snugly within the cylinders 10 and 11 and free to rotate therein, sufficient clearance being allowed to compensate for the expansion of the rotors in the cylinders.

One side of the cylinders or the flanges 8 and 9 forming such cylinders, is enlarged and provided with a substantially straight vertical face 18 and is also provided with a forwardly directed box-shaped extension 19 with which the steam supply pipe 20 is coupled, and five other pipes 21 are coupled with the box-shaped extension 19 and with the flange 8 forming the cylinder 10, and are adapted to communicate with a corresponding number of tangentially arranged intake ports 22 spaced circumferentially of the cylinder 10 and adapted to register with and to discharge steam into the pockets 16 of the rotor 16. The wall or flange of the cylinder 10 is provided in juxtaposition to and at one side of the intake ports 22 with steam discharge ports 23, which flare into the cylinder 10 as shown at 23 and pipes 24: communicate with the ports 23 and pass transversely and forwardly overthe cylinder structure of the engine and into the cylinder 11 through ports 25,

which are also preferably tangentially arranged and which are adapted to communicate with the pockets 17 of the rotor 17.

The inner face of the cylinder 11 is provided at one side of the intake ports 25 therein with an annular exhaust chamber 26 which is in juxtaposition to the intake ports 25 of the cylinder 11 and ex tends around to and communicates with a final exhaust passage 27 formed in the cylinder 11, and an exhaust pipe 28 communicates with said exhaust passage.

In the operation of th engine, it will be understood that steam under pressure is first passed into the pocket 16 of the rotor 16 through the pipes 21 and into the ports 22 to actuate the rotor and the greater portion of this steam is immediately discharged from the respective pockets of the rotor 16 into the pockets 1'? of the rotor 17 in the cylinder 11 through the exhaust passages 23, pipes 24- and intake passages 25 and the steam is then discharged from the pockets 17 into the chamber 26 and thus out through the exhaust pipe 28.

In the above operation a certain percentage of the steam will be carried around in the pockets 16 and in the cylinder 10, and this steam is exhausted through auxiliary or supplemental exhaust ports 29 in the cylinder 10 and located at a predetermined disance from the passages 23 as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Three ofythe exhaust passages 29 are shown in the accompanying drawing, and communicating with these passages are three pipes 30 which extend transversely and upwardly over the cylinder structure, and communicate with three tangentially arranged and supplemental intake passages 31 in the cylinder 11, whereby the excess steam which is not exhausted through ports 23, may be discharged into the pockets 17 of the rotor 17, thereby providing means "for utilizing all but a small percentage of the steam power.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that practically all of the high pressure steam which is charged into the main or what may be called the high pressure cylinder 10 is conveyed and discharged into the low pressure cylinder 11 to actuate the rotor 17 therein, and it will be understood that in the accompanying drawing, I have diagrammatically illustrated the principle of my invention, and the usual valves, bearings and other details of construction including packings, will be employed but as these structural. details are well known in the art, I have not complicated the illustra tion of my invention by showing such well known structural details, and while I have shown specific arrangement and location of the separate intake and exhaust passages in the separate cylinders and have shown a specific pocket construction in the rotors ol'. the cylinders, it will be understood that 1 am not necessarily limited in these respects and various changes in and modifications of the construction herein shown and described may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit oi my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

It will be noted that the inwardly flared portions 23 ot the exhaust passage 2" slightly overlap or extend backwardly of the intake passages 22, thereby permitting of the immediate discharge oi" steam from the separate pockets of the rotor, and this constitutes one of the distinctive features of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I

l. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder having circumferentially spaced intake ports adjacent to which are exhaust ports, said cylimler being provided at a predetermined point from said exhaust ports with supplen'iental exhaust ports, a supplemental cylinder in juxtaposition to the first named cylinder, said supplemental cylinder being provided with circun'rlcrentially spaced intake ports, means for placing the exhaust ports of the first named cylinder in con'nnunication with the intake ports of the supplemental cylinder, said supplemental cylinder being provided with three intake ports at a predetermined distance in advance of said first named ports, and means for placing the second named exhaust ports of the first named cylinder in communication with the second intake ports of the last named cylii'uler.

2. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder having circumferentially spaced intake ports, in juxtaposition to and at one side of which are exhaust ports, said cylinder being provided at a predetermined point from said exhaust ports with supplemental exhaust ports, a supplemental cylinder in juxtaposition to the first named cylinder, said supplemental cylinder being provided with circumtercntially spaced intake ports, means for placing the exhaust ports of the first named cylinder in comn'ninication with the intake ports of the supplemental cylinder, said supplemental cylindcr being provided with three intake ports at a predetermined distance in advance of said first named ports, means for placing the second named exhaust ports ot the first named cylinder in communication with the second intake ports ot the last named cylinder, and said last named cylinder being provided with an annular exhaust chamber.

3. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder having circumferllU entially spaced intake ports in juxtaposition to and at one side of which are exhaust ports, said cylinder being provided at a predetermined point from said exhaust ports with supplemental exhaust ports, a supplemental cylinder in juxtaposition to the first named cylinder, said supplemental cylinder being provided with circumferentially spaced intake ports, means for placing the exhaust ports of the first named cylinder in communication with the intake ports of the supplemental cylinder, said supplemental cylinder being provided with three intake ports ata predetermined distance in advance of said first named ports, means for placing the second named exhaust ports of the first named cylinder in communication with the second intake ports of the last named cylinder, and said last named cylinder being provided with an annular exhaust chamber, in communication with an exhaust passage in said cylinder.

4. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder structure having two cylinders arranged in close proximity, rotors mounted in said cylinders, one of said cylinders constituting a high pressure cylinder, and the other a low pressure cylinder, said high pressure cylinder having circumferentially spaced and tangentially arranged intake ports in juxtaposition to and at one side of which are spaced exhaust ports, means for supplying high pressure steam to the intake ports of said cylinder, said low pressure cylinder being provided with circumierentially spaced and tangentially arranged intake ports, means for placing the exhaust ports of the high pressure cylinder in communication with the intake ports of the low pressure cylinder, said high pressure cylinder being provided with other exhaust ports positioned in advance of said first named exhaust ports, and said low pressure cylinder being provided with other intake ports at a predetermined distance from the first named intake ports of said cylinder, and means for placing the last named. exhaust ports of the high pressure cylinder in communication with the last named intake ports of the low pressure cylinder.

5. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder structure having two cylinders arranged in close proximity, rotors mounted in said cylinder, one of said cylinders constituting a high pressure cylinder, and the other a low pressure cylinder, said high pressure cylinder having circumferentiallyspaced and tangentially arranged intake ports in juxtaposition to and at one side of which are spaced exhaust ports, means for supplying high pressure steam to the intake ports of said cylinder, said low pressure cylinder being provided with circumferentially spaced and tangentially arranged intake ports, means for placing the exhaust ports of the high pressure cylinder in communication with the intake ports of the low pressure cylinder, said high pressure cylinder being provided with other exhaust ports at a predetermined distance from said first named exhaust ports, said low pressure cylinder being provided with other intake ports at a predetermined distance from the first named intake ports of said cylinder, means for placing the last named exhaust ports of the high pressure cylinder in communication with the last named intake ports of the low pressure cylinder, and the low pressure cylinder being provided with an exhaust passage.

6. In a turbine engine of the class described comprising cylinders arranged in juxtaposition, rotors in said cylinders, means for introducing steam into one of said cylinders, and means for instantaneously discharging the steam from said cylinder and for introducing the same into the adjacent cylinder, and said last named cylinder being provided with an exhaust passage.

7. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder having circumferentially spaced intake ports adjacent to and at one side of which are exhaust ports, whereby steam charged into the pockets of the rotor through the intake ports, may be instantaneously discharged through the ex haust ports.

8. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder having ClIC1111lf6IB11- tially spaced intake ports, adjacent to and at one side of which are exhaust ports, whereby steam charged into the pockets of the rotor through the intake ports may be instantaneously discharged through the exhaust ports, and said cylinder being pro vided at a predetermined point from said exhaust ports with supplemental exhaust ports.

9. A turbine engine of the class described comprising a cylinder structure having two cylinders arranged in close proximity, rotors mounted in said cylinders, one of said cylinders constituting a high pressure cylinder and the other a low pressure cylinder, said high pressure cylinder having circumferentially spaced and tangentially arranged intake ports in juxtaposition to and at one side of which are spaced exhaust ports in direct communication with the separate intake ports through the pockets of the rotor in said cylinder.

10. A cylinder construction for steam turbine engines of the class described comprising a base, an annular body on said base and divided by a central partition wall into separate cylinders opening outwardly at the opposite sides of said cylinder structure, plates for closing the openings of said cylinders, a shaft mounted in said plates and said partition Wall, rotors mounted on said shaft Within said cylinders, a plurality of steam nozzles spaced circumferentially of one of said cylinders, and a plurality of exhaust passages at one side of and placed in communication with said nozzles througn the pockets of the rotor.

'11. A cylinder construction for steam turbine engines of the class described comprising a base, an annular body on said base and divided by a central partition all into separate cylinders opening outwardly at the opposite sides of said cylinder struc ture, plates for closing the openings of said cylinders, a shaft mounted in said plates and said partition Wall, rotors mounted on said shaft Within said cylinders, a plurality of steam nozzles spaced oircumferentially of one of said cylinders, and a plurality of exhaust passages at one side of and placed in communication with said nozzles through the pockets of the rotor, and means for passing the exhaust steam from said cylinder into the adjacent cylinder.

1-2. A cylinder construction for steam turbine engines of the class described comprising a base, an annular body on said base and divided by a central partition wall into separate cylinders opening outwardly at the opposite sides of said cylinder struc ture, plates for closing the openings of said cylinders, a shaft mounted in said plates and said partition Wall, rotors mounted on said shaft Within said cylinders, a plurality of steam nozzles spaced circumferentially of one of said cylinders, and a plurality of exhaust passages at one side of and placed in communication with said nozzles through the pockets of the rotor, means for passing the exhaust steam from said cylinder into the adjacent cylinder, and means for exhausting the steam from said last named cylinder.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention l. have signed my name this 24th day of March 1923.

WVILLIAM H. BELKNAP. 

